Protecting workers from heat is cool

Updated 8:05 pm, Thursday, June 30, 2011

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

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Allen Chelette takes a drink of water while working in Third Ward Wednesday, June 29, 2011, in Houston. OSHA is reminding employers that they have to provide their workers with protection from the heat. Centerpoint Energy has its linemen and other folks who work outside every day drink fluid every 15 to 20 minutes so they consume a quart an hour of either water or Gaterode.( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less

Allen Chelette takes a drink of water while working in Third Ward Wednesday, June 29, 2011, in Houston. OSHA is reminding employers that they have to provide their workers with protection from the heat. ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

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Don Hall fills his water bottle while working in Third Ward Wednesday, June 29, 2011, in Houston. OSHA is reminding employers that they have to provide their workers with protection from the heat. Centerpoint Energy has its linemen and other folks who work outside every day drink fluid every 15 to 20 minutes so they consume a quart an hour of either water or Gaterode.( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less

Don Hall fills his water bottle while working in Third Ward Wednesday, June 29, 2011, in Houston. OSHA is reminding employers that they have to provide their workers with protection from the heat. Centerpoint ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Protecting workers from heat is cool

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Companies have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace. And in this summer's seemingly endless heat wave, that includes making sure employees have enough water, get enough breaks in the shade to cool down and receive immediate medical help if they're showing signs of heatstroke.

And if the boss won't give workers a break?

Call OSHA, said David Michaels, the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, who promised the federal agency will jump on complaints about conditions that put employees at risk.

Michaels, along with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, hosted a conference call recently with meteorologists to remind workers and their supervisors about their responsibilities in the hot weather.

More than 30 workers died from heatstroke last year, Solis said. Among those at greatest risk are farmworkers, construction workers, roofers, baggage handlers, road crews, landscapers and car sellers who spend their days walking across acres of hot asphalt.

It's still early in the summer, yet several workers have already died in heat-related incidents this year, Michaels said. Hundreds more have been hospitalized.

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"We need to reduce the number," said Michaels, adding that heat-related fatalities are completely preventable. At the current rate, he's expecting more heat-related deaths this year than last.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 32 workers died of heat exposure in 2007, 27 in 2008 and 33 in 2009. Sunny and populous California, Florida and Texas have the greatest number of heat-related fatalities, according to the bureau.

CenterPoint Energy takes heat exposure seriously, said Larry Fuller, director of training, which includes safety at the company's electric operations. Every day about 1,000 employees are working outdoors on power lines and other electrical equipment.

They are encouraged to drink fluids every 15 to 20 minutes so they consume a quart an hour, alternating between water and Gatorade, Fuller said. They also take cool-off breaks every hour, usually in their truck cabs with the air conditioning turned on.

Signs of confusion

Crew members, who are trained each spring on how to prevent heat-related illnesses, are also taught to watch each other for signs of confusion and other symptoms that could signal heat exhaustion or heatstroke. They also frequently rotate jobs so no one is exposed too long to extreme heat.

"There is not much shade on top of a 45-foot electric distribution pole," Fuller said.

Fast thinking and training about heatstroke symptoms paid off last week, Fuller said, when a worker called his crew leader at the end of his shift and said he wasn't feeling well. The crew leader called 911, and the employee was taken to the hospital and given fluids intravenously.

He's recovered and back at work, said Fuller, who credits the quick recovery to the immediate emergency response.

Ed Vargocko, business manager for Iron Workers Local 84 in Houston, said his union's labor agreement calls for contractors to supply fresh, cool drinking water. And workers can stop and get a drink anytime they want, he added.

But he also remembers a time when water was seen more as a perk than a right.

About eight years ago Vargocko was the job superintendent on a construction site and company officials were complaining about how many drinking cups they were going through. They were balking at buying more, and Vargocko said he reminded them that cups and fresh water are cheaper than an ambulance trip for a dehydrated worker.

They knew how much an ambulance cost and after that, cups were always in plentiful supply, he added.

They need their jobs but they also need water, and many times workers who feel vulnerable don't know how to negotiate between the two necessities, Perez-Boston said.

The group sponsors training sessions that encourage workers to talk about how they've handled such problems in the past. It's a conversation that's good to practice, she said, so when a problem happens again, they know what to say to the boss - or know when to decide that it's better not to risk your life on a short-term job.